The role of psychological support and respiratory function training in alleviating anxiety and improving lung...

Patients with bronchial asthma often experience anxiety in addition to decreased lung function.

This study retrospectively enrolled 204 diagnosed and hospitalized patients with bronchial asthma in our hospital, and randomly divided them into the observation group and the control group. Firstly, the differences in baseline data between two groups of patients were analyzed. Secondly, the differences in anxiety scores (GAD-7, HADS), Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) levels, and nursing satisfaction between two groups of patients were analyzed at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after nursing intervention. Finally, the generalized estimation equation is applied to analyze the interaction between nursing intervention and time.

There were no significant differences between the observation group and the control group in most baseline indicators, such as age and gender. At 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after intervention, the GAD-7 and HADS levels in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group, while the PEF level and patient satisfaction were significantly higher than those in the control group. Over time, GAD-7 and HADS significantly decrease, while PEF and satisfaction (p < 0.001) significantly increase. The interaction showed that psychological support and respiratory function training significantly reduced anxiety levels at 1 and 3 months after intervention (GAD-7: p = 0.032; HADS: p = 0.002), significantly increased PEF levels at 1 week and 1 month after intervention (p < 0.001), and significantly improved satisfaction levels at 3 months after intervention (p < 0.001).

Psychological support combined with respiratory function training can significantly reduce anxiety levels in patients with bronchial asthma and improve lung function.